Refining the principles of passive design

摘要

In this edition of architectural science review, we look at papers that contribute to the principles of passive design. Passive design is a process that has been used for thousands of years in the creation of buildings; however, it has become part of the larger framework of bioclimatic design. In the classic text by Victor Olgyay (1963), which was revised in 2015, he argues that by constructing buildings that respond to their region through designing with climate in mind is a necessary and central part of modern architecture. This is because the regional aspects of architecture are thought of as being culturally based. Architecture is one of the main manifestations of a culture; hence, it is important to use the determinants of climate in architecture. Hence according to Olgyay, vernacular design is a source of the cultural manifestations in architecture. He advocated that to understand these cultural manifestations a scientific basis for designing for the climate conditions is needed. This approach draws on a range of disciplines: biology, climatology, technology and architecture.